UN Special Rapporteur commends Rwandan Government

Twenty years after genocide, Rwanda should pave the
way towards peaceful dissent – UN expert

KIGALI / GENEVA (28 January 2014) – United Nations
Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai commended the Rwandan
Government on its economic development in the 20 years since
the 1994 genocide, but urged that undue restrictions on the
freedoms of peaceful assembly and association be lifted so
that the country can expand its achievements to the fields
of multiparty democracy and human rights.

“I
commend Rwanda for its remarkable progress in developing
infrastructure, building institutions and ensuring stability
and security over the past 20 years,” Mr Kiai said* at the
end of his first official visit to the country. “These
efforts have laid the foundation for a bright future for
Rwanda.”

“The next step is to build upon that
foundation by developing a true multiparty democracy and
allowing space for peaceful dissent,” stressed the
independent expert charged by the UN Human Rights Council to
monitor and promote the realization of the rights to freedom
of peaceful assembly and of association worldwide.

Freedom of peaceful assembly

The
Rwandan Constitution guarantees freedom of peaceful
assembly, but the Special Rapporteur said he found that in
practice, peaceful protests criticising government policies
were generally not allowed. He also noted a “contradiction
in requiring both prior notification and authorisation,
paving the way for arbitrary decisions by the
authorities.”

“Let me emphasize that peaceful
assemblies should not be feared,” the human rights expert
said. “Rather they should be encouraged. There is value in
expressing disagreement and differences peacefully and
publicly.”

Freedom of association

Rwanda’s constitution also guarantees the right to
freedom of association, but Mr Kiai said that in practice,
there are onerous obstacles to registration, limits on civil
society’s freedom to operate in certain fields, and
government interference in the internal affairs of groups
deemed too critical of official policy.

The Special
Rapporteur also noted concern from many people that the body
charged with regulating local NGOs, the Rwanda Governance
Board (RGB), interfered in the internal affairs of some
organizations.

“The independence and ability of
associations to run their internal affairs without external
interference is of paramount importance in the exercise of
the right to freedom of association,” he said. “I see no
justification for RGB involving itself in leadership
wrangles within local NGOs.”

The independent expert
drew attention to the “striking difference between the
registration process for NGOs and businesses.” Civil
society groups can take months to register, while businesses
can be formed in six hours or less.

“The ease with
which businesses can be registered and operate in Rwanda is
notable. It is one reason for the country’s economic
transformation,” Mr Kiai said. “A similar approach to
the civil society sector would yield significant economic,
social and political dividends, allowing for innovation and
creativity.”

The Special Rapporteur observed
“a lack of space” for individuals to express dissenting
views in the political realm, due to the Government
favouring a type of “consensus politics” that strongly
discourages public criticism. Registration of political
parties, he said, is also “long, laborious and, in far too
many instances, arbitrary.” The Green Party, for example,
spent four years securing its registration. Other key
opposition parties remain unregistered.

“Every
dissenting political leader who rejects this consensus
approach appears to get into legal trouble, with the most
common charges being denying the genocide, sectarianism,
corruption, and even spreading rumours,” Kiai said. “In
all such cases, these politicians are accused of violence or
having links with violent groups. This sends a chilling and
unacceptable message that peaceful public disagreement with
the Government is equivalent to criminality.”

The human
rights expert highlighted the cases of Ms Victoire Ingabire,
Mr Sylvain Sibomana and Mr Anselme Mutuyimana from the FDU
Inkingi, an opposition party that has been unable to
register to date, as well as of Mr Bernard Ntaganda from the
PS Imberakuri. They have all been sentenced from four to
fifteen years in prison on similar charges.

During
his eight-day visit, Mr Kiai met State officials, members of
the judiciary and of Parliament, representatives of the
National Human rights Commission, members of civil society,
and the diplomatic community.

The Special
Rapporteur will present a final report on his visit to the
Human Rights Council during its 26th session in June 2014.

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